Dear John,

There’s no subject about which I’m more passionate than education but the more I look at New Zealand’s performance, the more concerned I become.

A recent pilot NCEA reading, writing and maths assessment revealed that two-thirds of secondary school students failed to reach the minimum level the OECD says is necessary to succeed.

But kids are failing before they reach secondary school. In Year 8, which is the last year of primary or intermediate school, only 45 per cent of kids are at the level they should be in maths, and only 35 per cent in writing.

This is a disaster for these kids personally, and for New Zealand.

Children need to arrive at high school having mastered the basics, so they are confident and ready for their education to be extended.

That’s why today I announced National’s plan called “Teaching the Basics Brilliantly”

National will:

• Require all primary and intermediate schools to teach an hour of reading, an hour of writing and an hour of maths, on average, every day.

• Re-write the curriculum so it says what must be taught each year in reading, writing, maths and science to every year group.

• Require standardised, robust assessment of student progress in reading, writing and maths at least twice a year every year from Year 3 to Year 8, with clear reporting to parents.

• Ensure that teachers and teacher trainees spend more time learning how to teach the basics. We’ll also provide them with more classroom tools to help them teach reading, writing, maths and science.

There are many high-achieving pupils, teachers and schools in New Zealand but the Minister of Education could not today look every parent in the eye and guarantee their child will receive a world-class education wherever they live.

I want every young New Zealander to flourish and to be able to live the life they want. National will aim to have 80 per cent of Year 8 children at or above the curriculum level for their age in reading, writing, maths and science by 2030.

Further, we’ll aim to return New Zealand to the top 10 countries in the world in maths, reading and science. We used to be there and we can be again with a National government that will lift teacher training and require schools to teach the basics brilliantly.

Christopher

PS. You can read the full policy document on our website by clicking this link.